Seam for fabrics



sepa M, 19123. www@ H. L. TUCK 151' SEAM lFOR FABRICS' Filed April 8,1921 Wenig@ o Zvwkcen Patented Sept. ll, i923.

TE @KEES anatre HENRY Il. TUCKER, 0F WINCHENDON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNORT0 TOM WYE, INC.,

OF WENCHENDON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CRPORTIQN 0F MASSACHUSETTS.

BEAM FOR FABRICS.

Application led April To all 'whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, HENRY L. TUCKER, a citizen of the United States, anda resident of Winchendon, in the county of Worcester and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSeams for Fabrics, of which the following is a specification. y v

The invention is an improved form of seam for knit goods having anelastic nature, the object being to eliminate or counteract theelasticity of the material at the seam, for instance, at the shoulderseam of knitted jackets, In carrying out the invention a smooth seam isprovided and one that will preserve the shape of the model.

Thel invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a sectional or edge view of two pieces of knitted fabricwith the seam partly formed.

Fig. 2 is a view ofan'other step in the operation of forming the seam.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view across the complete seam indicating thecover-seaming stitch.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the seam.

In these drawings, 1, 2 indicate two pieces of knit fabric which are tobe joined say at the shoulder of a jacket. This seam is shown in Fig. 4as made transverse to the wales of knitted stitches of the fabric, or inother words, in the direction of the courses of knitting and thereforein the direction in which the knitted fabric is most elastic.

The seam is fabricated by laying a piece of tape 3 on the face of one ofthe pieces of fabric and then sewing through the ta e and through bothlayers of fabric as in icated at a, the stitching being done from thetape side through the layers and locked by a chain stitch on the underside as indicated at b. The tape makes a foundation for the stitches onthe side a and provides for uniformity of holding power of the stitcheson this side of the la ers of knitted fabric and the ordinary lock orchain stitch provides uniformity of the work on the other side of thelayers at b. n

The tape is fed into the seam automati- 191. erial No. 459,639.

cally on a seaming machine, and after the through and through stitches(L are made, a cover-seaming stitch is applied in the nature of aherring-bone stitch as indicated at c. This stitching is held by loopsof other stitches d passing through the fabric and alongside the turnededges of the lapped portions forming the seam. This stitching c does notgo through the fabric from face to face but it smooths down the edges ofthe fabric on one side and keeps these edges close to the main body ofthe knit pieces,

In the process of applying this over-seaming or cover-seaming stitch theedges of the fabric pieces that project beyond the line of seamingstitches a automatically lap or turn back upon the fabric and one ofthese turned back edges completely covers the tape and encloses the samebetween itself and the body portion of this piece of fabric.

This seam as shown in Fig.` 4 extends transverse to thewales of theknitted fabric and it provides a non-elastic portion of the completedgarment along any desired line such, for instance, as along the shoulderso that the shape of the garment will be preserved.

The seam, being reinforced and rigid, is durable and will outwear anyother part of the arment. v

'liie fabric may be plain or rib knit. The seam may bear. otherrelations to the courses and wales than that shown herein.

I claim:

The combination of contiguous sections of knit fabric lapped uponthemselves to form contiguous folds, a reinforcing ta e folded uponitself within one of said fol s, stitches extending transversely throughsaid tape and said folds at the bends thereof to unite said fabricsections and overseaming stitches extending over said folds and throughsaid fabric sections adjacent to the free edges of said folds but notthrough the latter to connect said fabric sections independently of saidtape and said transverse stitches and to hold said folds in place.

In testimony whereof I aiiix my signature this fifteenth day of March,A. D. 1921.

HENRY L. TUCKER.

